Brave 2:The lowlander
by TheEmeraldArcher
Summary: A year after the events in the movie a prince from a rival kingdom has arrived at DuBroch castle to ask for Méridas hand. He brings an offering of peace and power beyong king s Fergus wildest dreams. But is he all that it seems? Will Mérida be forced to marry him? Will she accept? Or maybe embark into another epic adventure to avoid this fate?
1. The arrival

The stranger walked out of the cover of the forest and into the stone bridge that connected to the DunBroch castle. He wore a cloak with a hood colored forest-green that covered most of his face, only leaving in sight his aquiline nose and his mouth.

He wore no armor, only a vest made of brown leather and a skirt of the same material; cut in the middle for more freedom of movement, underneath it pants the same color as his cloak and of the same fabric.

His arms were strong and mostly naked, only two armbands at the height of his biceps and leather gloves with iron bracelets that extended to almost his elbows.

On his back he carried a quiver and arrows, under that in his lower back; two knives, shorter than a short-sword but longer than a dagger: Snowthorn and Frostbite. In his left hand he held his bow.

As he stepped into the bridge the guard at top of the archway yelled –An intruder! Rally to me men of DunBroch! - He smiled under his hood, he was expecting this, but it was amusing all the same.

Soon he was surrounded by at least a dozen men, all of them taller and heavier than himself, but certainly not as skilled. They bearded swords, spears and shields.

One of the men, a particularly large one with a thick red beard, spoke –Who are you and what do you seek here? - All of this without dropping his guard.

The stranger took of his hood, revealing bright brown eyes and dark, curly hair that fell to almost his shoulders. He kneeled and laid his bow in front of him.

-I am prince Oliverius of Ayrshire and I wish to speak with your king- The man doubted before yelling over his shoulder –Call for the king!-

Oliverious heard hurried footsteps heading to the castle. After a short time, the largest man he had ever seen appeared in front of him. He had only one leg, the other one was a piece of wood. He wore a bright green shirt and skirt with a black furry cape. King Fergus shot a murderous look to the figure kneeling in front of him.

-What does a prince of Ayrshire wants in my domain? - He asked, without trying to hide the disgust and anger in his voice.

Oliverious cleared his throat before beginning –Lord Fergus; our clans had long been enemies. But I come today with an offering of peace -The king´s expression changed from anger to shock –And what offering would that be?-

-I wish to espouse princess Mérida…-


	2. The pact

The king let out an ominous horselaugh. –And why do you think that a lowlander like yourself is worthy to marry my daughter?-

-I am willing to take any test that you present me. And if princess Mérida does not wishes to spouse me I will leave in peace-

-Why should I trust you? - Fergus asked.

-If I wanted to hurt you- the prince said –You and your men would already be dead-

Some of the guard exchanged worried looks, others grinned in disbelief. King Fergus didn´t, he had been in too many battles and had learned to never underestimate a foe –Do I have your word?-

-I swear over everything that I hold sacred-

-Escort him to the throne room- The king said.

…

Meanwhile the news of the arrival of the prince had spread like a fire. But it was Queen Elinor who gave the news to the princess in her Bedchamber.

-Mother! - She whined –We went over this a year ago when father organized those stupid games! - Her bright green dress glittered in the light the candles casted over her figure- I will choose my own husband when I want too! Besides our clans have been at the brink of war even before I was born, why should I do it?-

-Because it would bring peace and prosperity to our land, and still you haven´t let me finish, prince Oliverius said that if you didn´t wish to marry him he would leave in peace, I think that he at least deserves an opportunity-

Mérida didn´t say it but the curiosity bug had bitten her. –Very well, I will meet this…prince Oliverius- She shook her wild red hair and headed for the door.

…

Once in the throne room the king ordered him to surrender his weapons, so he did.

-My daughter will be here soon, meanwhile we could discuss the true motives behind your actions- The prince grew tense, this was the moment that decided everything and he had to measure every word carefully –King Fergus, I wish not to waste your times with lies, my clan has long been preparing to take your lands by force. Our army will march north three days from now but I do not wish any blood be spilled and I convinced my father to wait a message from me…-

-So this marriage, would it avoid a war?-The king asked playing with his beard, it was insane, it was madness, to sacrifice his daughter this way. But it was the lesser of two evils and this prince seemed a good prospect, maybe even better than young Macintosh.

-It would and more than that, I assure you that your daughter would be treated as the queen she would become at the side of the best warrior in the land, first born of the king, who has seen seventeen winters. And as a final promise, my clan has long mastered the magic of runes; you would wield power far beyond your wildest dreams-

In that moment the king seemed to age, his voice was tired and his face weary, as if accepting defeat–Then I accept- The stranger smiled.


	3. The message

Just then the princess entered the room and laid her eyes on his father, then the stranger. To be honest he wasn´t ugly at all –And why would you, father- she asked – accept a marriage on my behalf?-

The king cast a look that spilled love at her daughter, just as he was about to explain the stranger interrupted –Hello Mérida, I am; possibly thou already know this, prince Oliverius of Ayrshire-

He walked towards her zigzagging across the room –I have already bored you father with politics. But I want you to know that you are the fairest maiden this land has ever seen- If not for the seriousness of the situation the princess would have allowed herself to blush, but this time she stood firm. The stranger continued –Besides your skills with bow and sword are legendary, almost unmatched- "What!" The princess thought –And who is the one, if may I know, who matches them?-

-That princess, would be none other than myself-

-Perhaps you could demonstrate that- Mérida walked towards one of the guards and snatched his sword from the hilt.

-As you may have noticed I am unarmed. If your father would allow me to pick up my weapons…-

The king nodded and a guard took the knives and handed them to the prince.

-_En garde _princess- Both opponents adopt a fighting stance, they face each other, cautious, determined, experienced, their eyes lock, they each draw breath. Their blows land with almost not force at first, a tap, a brush. They test, assess, a shift, a counter, a feint. The princess then puts all for her strength into a blow but he side-steps, knocking her off balance.

-I think that´s quite enough princess-

Then it stops being a spar, Mérida is slashing, blocking, slashing, each time going for the kill.

-Mérida, stop it! - Her father orders, but she doesn´t. Steel meets steel too fast for most eyes to follow and then the impossible happens. The knives glow a bright blue and when Mérida´s sword connects with them the blade falls to the ground, sliced.

-Princess if you do not wish to marry me I would at least appreciate if you stopped trying to kill me-

Mérida still holds the useless hilt. Then throws it to the ground in anger and storms out of the hall, towards her room.

-This, king Fergus, is the power I was talking about- Oliverius states.

…

Queen Elinor follows her daughter and finds her sitting on the edge of her bed –Mérida, are you all right?- There is no answer. The queen sits down next to her daughter and tries to raise her mood –Well you must admit he is a decent swordsman- She taunts – I wonder how well can he manage with a bow…- Normally she wouldn´t approve of her wee girl fondness towards archery but this time it was different – Finally Mérida decides to speak – Tell him to meet me in my clearing tomorrow at noon, don´t he dare be late- The princess lays down on the bed, turning her back to her mother, she doesn´t understand what is this feeling, she doesn't know that this short encounter would be the spark that finally started the fire that had laid dormant in her for so many years. The queen smiles and leaves the room.

…

Oliverius is escorted to a chamber with a simple bed and a table on it, a window facing the forest is on the opposite side of the room.

He requests for a piece of paper and something to write with.

_Father, I regret to inform that my plan has been a failure. It seems that I leave you no choice but to send forth our armies. _

_This is a wonderful land and it´s people are noble. Do everything you can to avoid their destruction. _

_I will leave tomorrow at sunrise._

_Oliverius._

He then folds the piece of paper and walks toward the window, he looks down. A cloaked figure in a black steed waits. His father messenger, right on schedule as planned. He throws the letter and the figure catches it, it rides into the night. Prince Oliverius lies down and drifts into an uneasy sleep…


	4. Target practice

Sunlight entering through the window awakens the price, who stands up and stretches. Then he heads towards the door. He opens it and is faced with a maiden he had never seen before. She holds his weapons, which had been taken from him after the fight. –The princess wishes to meet you in the castle grounds today at noon- She says and hands him his bow, quiver and knives. She then leaves without another word. A ray of hope washes over him, perhaps the marriage would take place and the way he felt about Mérida meant that it wouldn´t be a fully political matter. Then hope vanishes, he had already sent word to his father, their armies would be marching right now. They would reach the castle in two days.

All this thoughts crossed his head as he had breakfast and walked through the castle, finally heading to the grounds.

The princess was already there, shooting at some wooden targets maybe 70 yards away. He was much further, at least twice that distance. But didn´t spoke or let his presence known in any way. He simply picked up his bow, knocked an arrow and took aim.

The bow sung, letting the arrow fly through the air and hitting the bull's-eye.

The princess looked for the source of the shot and upon seeing the prince she turned back to her target. Oliverius got closer and closer still until he stood next to her. –Seventy yards is a good distance, but why don´t you try a longer shot?-

-I believe in perfecting my skill before attempting to learn a new one- She shot another arrow that sliced the previous one perfectly in halve.

–I say your skill is as perfect as it´s going to get at this distance, come on- He lead the way and she followed, counting the steps until they were twice as far as the original distance.

–Shoot- He said. Mérida tensed the string and took aim; the arrow flew but missed the bull's-eye, a few inches to low.

–Try again- Oliverius walked towards the target –What are you doing? - The princess asked, he didn´t answered. Once next to the target he pulled the arrow out and yelled –Now! - Once again the arrow hit the target in the exact same spot than the previous shot.

And he once again pulled the arrow out, but this time he placed his hand over the pierced spot of wood –Again!- Mérida´s heart skipped a dozen beats as she answered something she never thought she would hear herself saying –I can´t!-

-Yes you can! Do it! - Mérida took her favorite arrow and placed it on the string, drew back the bow and her breath. As she let the arrow loose she closed her eyes, waiting to hear a yell of pain. But it didn´t come. The arrow went through the target, a perfect bull´s-eye; less than an inch over Oliverius hand.

And so it began, the afternoon flew past them as they exchanged advice and looks. Last night´s spark was beginning to build into a fire.

At sundown they finally returned to the castle, each of them to their chambers. And as the prince of Ayrshire laid in bed thinking of, what he was certain, was his first and true love he remembered; war was coming to DunBroch.


	5. The king of Aryshire

He had but one choice left, he climbed down the tower and sneaked outside the castle. He ran gracefully through the forest, toward were he knew his father´s camp would be.

It was a long walk but at last he saw light in the distance, torches and tents.

He got closer and finally entered the sea of carps were the army of Ayrshire, 5,000 strong, slept. He looked for his father's tent, the most beautiful and largest of them all. And the only one to be guarded at this time of night.

-Young McLeod –One of the guards says, surprised- But…I thought you were away in negotiations-

-I am Brutus, now let me through, I have an urgent matter to discuss with my father- The guard steps aside and the prince enters the tent.

The royal bed is in one of the corners, on the other one a beautifully carved table and a mirror. In the middle a tall figure, wearing black robes, with hair similar to his son´s but whitened over the years, crouches over a map showing DunBroch castle. The king, he moves several wooden pieces representing battalions.

-Father- The figure looks up –My son! - He walks to his side –I am so glad to see you! I was just finishing devising tomorrow´s strategy; I´ve been working on it since I received your message-

-Father there is no need for this- Young McLeod states cheerfully- the princess is on the brink of changing her mind, we can achieve a peaceful alliance!- The kings expression changes to a grave one –Peace was never an option, to be honest. I never actually expected you to succeed. I just allowed you to try to stop your childish whining-

-What?-

-You must understand that this matter is older than myself, older than my grandfather´s grandfather. And tomorrow we could end it, give the final, killing blow. And I expect you to fight at my side-

-But father they are honest, hard-working people! There must surely be another way!-

-ENOUGH! It is time you decide who has your allegiance, your clan or them! You will fight with me tomorrow or face banishment! - Silence falls in the room, for a moment they look at each other, their faces as if sculpted in stone –Then I choose banishment- And with that the prince turns around and leaves.

-Don´t you dare turn your back on me!- But young McLeod had vanished into the night.


	6. Roundabout

It´s a long walk back to DunBroch castle, the sun rises as he is still walking through the forest. When he finally reaches the stone bridge, it´s nearly noon.

-Prince Oliverius! - One of the guards says –We´ve been looking for you all morning! Specially the princess-

-I must see the king and queen right now. Tell the princess to come too, it´s of extreme importance-

-But, what could possibly be so urgent?-

-Just do it! - He walks into the throne room were the king and queen sit in their raised thrones. They smile as they see him come in. He kneels in a great hurry –King Fergus I have terrible news, Ayrshire armies are coming. My father has betrayed his word, we must prepare for a war!-

The smiles vanish; everyone in the room is still and silent, except for one lonely figure, the princess, who watches from a safe distance, without being spotted herself hidden behind a wall.

Finally the king speaks –But you…you said that…that peace- His expression becomes one of anger –I was a fool to believe that folk from Ayrshire could keep their word. Lock him up- Two guards that he hadn´t seen standing behind him seize each one of his arms –No! You don´t understand! My father betrayed me! I love your daughter!-

-SILENCE! Folk like you could never understand the true meaning of the word! You are unworthy of our trust! You are unworthy of the title prince! You´re UNWORTHY of the love of my daughter!-He then walks down from the throne – Make a call to arms, we must march south-

…

The guards drag Oliverius to a tower in the castle and throw him in less than unceremoniously; they lock a heavy wooden door behind him. There are bars on the window and his weapons have been confiscated, he has no way of scape.

From the top of the tower he can see the assembled army, maybe 1,000 strong. They are outnumbered 5 to 1 but they don´t care.

The army marches through the bridge, with king Fergus at the front. Carrying banners, swords, spears and shields. Once the last man has crossed towards the forest he sees a figure, a lonely archer, princess Mérida…


	7. Despair

-No! You don´t understand! My father betrayed me! I love your daughter!- But the princess is already out of the room, her heart is shattered, the vivid, warm fire that had grown inside her has been put out with a cold bucket of water. Her marriage, her love, nothing but another strategy of those controlling her fate. And him, he maybe didn´t felt the same way about her at all! She walks around her clearing, lost in thoughts, the occasional warm tear running down her cheeks.

After what seemed an eternity she sees the army gathered and marching from the castle. She quickly spots her father in the crowd, it´s easy, being as big as he is. –Father! Father, wait! I wish to come with you! - Fergus looks at her warmly.

-Not this time Mérida, you have many times over proved your valor. But today the danger is greater than all of us, if something happens to me you must take care of your mother and the kingdom- He holds her tiny hands in one of his, her wee girl "I am proud of you, I love you more than anything" He doesn´t say it, it would just make things harder. He lets go of her hands and marches to meet an unknown foe.

But the princess won´t give up that easily, quickly she collects her bow and arrows, puts on a cloak to conceal her face and follows her father´s army always far behind them and inside the woods.

She finally hears a horns blow, announcing the beginning of the battle, and still hidden within the deep foliage watches the two armies.

She swallows, her father is terribly outnumbered, but still she readies her first arrow, ready to help like an invisible spirit, staying out of sight. Her mother once told her about the Wulvers, wolf-like creatures that leaved food for the poor families to eat, always disappearing before anyone noticed their good deed. This time she is a Wulver.

The two armies face each other, the familiar green robes of her clan on one side, a sea of black and brown in the other. The calm before the storm. Then the horns blow and the two armies charge at each other, she tenses the string and takes aim…

….

Prince Oliverius looks into the distance from the window in his tiny cell, trying to hear the sounds of battle. But nothing reaches his ears. It´s almost sundown when he notices movement in the grounds, people are crowding next to the bridge.

And backing away as what's left of their army returns, barely half of their original numbers, battered, bruised, defeated men carrying torn banners. A depressing sight, but there´s something even worse down there, guarded by all flanks two wooden platforms carried by men. Two bodies lay over them, one is almost too big to be human, even at this distance you can notice his wooden leg.

The other one is tiny, too small to be a man´s; it wears a bright green dress and her fiery wild hair waves in the wind: Mérida.


	8. The battle

The two armies charge at each other, she tenses the string and takes aim, letting loose her first arrow, a man from Ayrshire fall, but no one notices in the heat of battle. The king, his father, hero by own right, gives his men renewed strength and courage every time it would seem they are doomed to fail under the sheer force of numbers. Hacking, slashing, blocking, parrying; making on his own huge damage to the enemy.

And Mérida fires, time and time again; never missing. Moving from her spot after every shot to remain concealed. The men of DunBroch fight with ferocity, never letting an inch of ground to their foes, and for a moment it seems that victory is near at hand.

Then all hope vanishes; as the black king strides forward, towering over every man in the battlefield, matched only by her own father.

A terrible sight to behold, wearing black robes that cover all his body but his face, where he wears an iron helmet that extends over to form a crown.

As an armor he uses bones of fallen foes, as a belt the skulls of fallen kings, still with their crowns on them.

No one moves, even his men seem terrified. And there are plenty good reasons for that, for in his right hand we wields a massive flail and in the left a black sword.

Finally a dozen of DunBroch bravest charge him, the flail swings only once, and twelve corpses are sent flying through the air; landing softly on the ground, or over their brothers in arms.

Mérida watches horrified, too scared to even draw back her weapon.

Fergus steps forward, ready for battle. He charges, swinging his sword.

Once again the wicked weapon swings, the king is dead before he hits the ground.

-No!- The princess has been brought back to reality with a thump, she fires her weapon in rage. But the arrows shatter as they make contact with the king's armor.

She runs towards his fathers´ body, and kneels next to it, sobbing. The dark lord has been distracted but not for long. He attacks with his sword; Mérida picks up the king´s weapon and blocks the blow. But the dark blade cuts through the steel; her father´s sword melts in her hand as Darkness swallows her hole.

…

This was the story that the remaining men told Queen Elinor as she kneeled next to her husband's body. Lovingly caressing his hair.

Mérida had been taken to the healing houses, she still drew breath. But her left arm, the one that held the sword when the dark king attacked, was limp and cold. And the princess grew weaker every moment.

Finally the queen made a decision and stood up, heading towards the tower were prince Oliverius was still captive.

She unlocked the door and walked in, the prince looked at her swollen face where tears were still flowing from her eyes.

-If you truly love my daughter…please help us- She begged.


	9. Hope

-Deaths head and fire tongue are the names of the weapons my father wields- The prince says while crouching over the sleeping princess. They are now in the healing houses, with many other men. A vast room with beds and women running around, nursing the wounded –They are enchanted as my own knives, but this is much more powerful darker magic. She is lucky to live but she doesn´t have much time- Mérida´s breathing is heavy, even in her sleep her face is tense, as if fighting an invisible foe.

-What can we do? - The Queen finally gathers the courage to ask –There is nothing to do, that I am aware of. Those weapons were made to destroy and kill everything they had contact with-

-But then, she will die? - Elinor´s voice breaks.

The prince sighs –We may have one hope, but that is all I can offer. I must leave the castle-

-In search of what?-

-The one who could know how to heal her, but I am uncertain of what I´ll find-

The queen stands up and walks face to face with Oliverius, she only pronounces one word –Godspeed-


	10. The witch s hut

This part of the forest is gloomy, cold, oppressing. A mist so thick that you can barely see. But the prince continues for he knows his target is near at hand. Only a mile from the ring of stones. He sees it, a small hut in a clearing. He hurries down the road and knocks the door; there is no answer –Hello? - He pushes the door open that creeks as if not used in years. He steps inside, keeping one hand in his knife pommel.

-Well hi there- An old voice says, its squeaky and gritty. He turns around to meet the source of the noise. An old lady in a rocking chair; next to a fire he hadn´t seen the first time. She is tine, maybe half his own height and wears very old green robes. Her hair is completely whitened by age but to top it off, instead of a hat, there is a crow.

-Hello- he begins, uncertain –My name is…-

-Oh I already know your name Oliverius and I know what you are looking for-

-Then the sayings are true, you really are a…-

-Witch yes, for years I had the life of a humble woodcarver until that nosy princess came around. But I must admit, life has been so much fun since she appeared-

-Please, you must help me-

-Oh, but why should I do that? I owe nothing to either kingdoms. And honestly I couldn´t care less. So why should I help you?-

The prince remains silent –You already know the answer-

The witch laughs –Indeed I do, powerful force isn´t it? Love? - She smiles a toothless smile before continuing -I can smell it a mile away; persons spend their whole lives searching for it. Most never find it, and few that do manage to keep it. But you, you are special. I can see it in your eyes-

She walks to small cabinets, opens it. Inside an old, dusty, tiny flask sits. She takes it and tosses it to the prince, who catches it. –Put that over her wound, it will heal her but not fully. Her arm will be fine but she is doomed to sleep forever-

-What else must I do?-

-She will not awake unless…-

-Unless?-

-Unless she is kissed by her true love my boy! Have you never heard of fairy tales?-

-I did, but I guess I never took them seriously-

-No one does, but me; hey I am the witch in most of those stories! I know by experience that it works-

The prince puts the flask inside his robes –Thank you- He says as he begins to leave.

-Thank me not my boy! Just promise me one thing-

-And what would that be?-

-Hold on to your love once you have it back- The prince smiles and opens the door, then disappears from sight in the misty forest.


	11. Life

Once back in the healing houses, Oliverius stands next to the princess, with the Queen next to him. A dozen or so men and women are all waiting what he has to say. He takes the flask from his robes and removes the cork, inside there is an oily, pink substance. It smells of forest and fresh air and many other things that he can´t quite put his finger on. He grabs a piece of cloth and dumps all the content into it, then starts massaging Merida's arm with it, the smell spreads to the whole room, lightening the atmosphere. And the princess´s face relaxes; she is now in a quiet sleep.

And everyone looks astonished –Did it worked? - The Queen asks. –There is one more thing- The prince crouches forward, ever so slowly and his lips meet hers. Only for an instant, warmth coming from nowhere and everywhere washes over him.

And Mérida opens her eyes. SLAP! It happens so fast most people don´t realize what happened, Oliverius rubs his check in pain as the princess stands up and storms out of the room.

The Queen is shocked and in raptures at the same time -Mérida…-

-Leave her- The prince says, still one hand over his cheek –She´ll be ok, but I need one more thing. Is there a forge in this castle?-

…...

The king´s funeral is held that day. He is buried like a warrior and a hero; everyone is there, all but one.

Young McLeod works at the castle forge, hammering the white-hot iron. THUNK! THUNK! The hammer goes every time it hits the piece of metal, crafted into the unmistakable shape of a bow.


	12. Windbreaker

After the funeral the princess goes to her father´s trophy room. Staring at each stuffed head, remembering the day they were brought home.

-Mérida- she recognizes the voice. Oliverius, the traitor, his father killer. And at the same time the one who brought her back from the dead. But she doesn´t turn around, she keeps her back to him.

-Mérida please. I would never wish you or your kingdom any harm. I never meant for any of this to happen- That was the straw that broke the horse´s back. She turns around enraged –You never meant what to happen? To bring war? For my father to die? No of course you never meant for any of this did you?- She turns her back to him once more.

-Princess, I love you- Young McLeod states – And I ask for forgiveness. But if you consider me to be your enemy I will gladly take my life- The princess remains silent and he slowly draws a knife from its hilt. Places over his heart and draws breath, preparing to strike. –Stop! - The princess yells. After a pause she continues –My father, he was a brave man, he died a noble death…and it wasn´t you who betrayed his trust- She wipes a tear from her face –You are forgiven-

Both smile and stare at each other –Come on- The prince leaves the room.

-Where are you going?-

-There is something I must show you-

He leads the way outside the castle and towards the clearing. –What is it?-

-You´ll see soon enough- Indeed, sitting on the grass is a small box, maybe 3 feet long and one foot wide. –Open it- Mérida walks and kneels next to it, what she sees upon opening the box reminds her of a present she received, many years ago in her birthday. A bow, still unstrung.

-Only magical weapons can penetrate my father´s armor, do you like it?-

-It´s beautiful- So it is, the handle is made of horn and wood, carved with extreme care. But the rest of the bow is iron so bright it glitters in the dim sunlight. An inscription, in runes Mérida can´t understand, runs the entire length of the weapon.

-What does it say? - The princess asks while examining it carefully.

-It is a spell, hidden in a poem; it reads "I am Windbreaker. I belong to princess Mérida, daughter of Fergus. Such a maiden as she, fair and brave, will this land never see again"-

The princess casts him a look that is hard to read.

-Shoot it- he says

-There is no string- Mérida passes her hand over where the string should be to prove her point.

-There will be once you shoot- She doesn´t understand but still stretches her left arm holding the weapon and places her hand as if knocking an arrow.

Then string, a blue ray of light appears briefly before Mérida takes away her hand in fear. She looks at the prince, questioning.

-Again- She repeats, this time she keeps her hand in place. The string appears and remains there. She pulls back; an arrow also made of blue light appears.

As she lessens the tension it disappears, then re-appears as she draws back the "string" again.

She takes aim and lets go. The arrow becomes a beam of light as it cruises the sky and hits the target that explodes in a shower of chips.

She stares surprised at the place where the target used to be before asking –So what now?-

-You tell me princess, what do we do now?-

The special look she gets when readying for an adventure appears on her face –We get ready-


	13. Strategy

The great hall is quickly turned into a war room with a map showing the castle and it´s surroundings over a table. Around which the war council is standing.

The Queen, The princess, the prince and a captain.

-How many men do we have? - Oliverius is the first to ask.

-500- The captain answers

-So we are outnumbered 8 to 1. Too much to fight them head on. Our best chance is too divide them in two groups and ambush them by separate-

-How will we do that? - Mérida asks.

-With hay and oil. We plant it in the old forest road, when my father´s army passes we light it up. Creating a wall of fire-

The council listens carefully –In turn we will divide our forces. I will lead a hundred swordsmen plus another hundred archers hidden at the sides of the road, here and here- Oliverius points at two sides of the road in the map.

-Once the wall rises we will attack. Meanwhile another 150 swordsmen and 50 bowmen will guard the stone bridge. It´s narrow enough to create a bottleneck, their numbers will count for nothing-

He moves the map to center the castle –Finally our last line of defense will be the castle itself. 75 archers will man the walls and the 25 remaining swordsman will remain at the courtyard. Any questions? - Silence

-Where will I be during all of this? - Mérida of course.

-You, princess, will be on the courtyard safe and sound-

-What?-

-Mérida I saved you once, I don´t think I´ll be lucky a second time. Now I want you to promise, on your father´s memory, that you will remain here-

-But…I promise-

-Very well, then what are we waiting for?-


	14. Tactics

For Oliverius´s strategy to work a small path of hay is planted across the road and soaked in oil. A small torch is ready to ignite it when necessary.

The rest of the men take their places and wait…

At last the Ayrshire army appears marching down the road. Skinny, shaggy, fierce-looking folk. The king is nowhere to be seen. When a good lot of men have passed the prince gives the signal. An arrow is ignited with the torch and fired at the trap. It catches fire effectible cutting them in two.

The least lucky are caught in the flames and burn to death.

-Now! Volley! - The prince orders and a hundred bows sing at the same time –Again! Again! - Men fall under the deathly rain, the swordsmen charge from their cover along with Oliverius. No doubt, no fear, no mercy.

Ayrshire men are startled, they begin to retreat but it´s too soon to call it a victory; for they only retreated to organize and charge again. And without the element of surprise numbers are taking their toll.

-Retreat! To the bridge!-

…...

Meanwhile men on the bridge are doing well, fiercely fighting back the bottlenecked forces of the dark king.

The arrival of Oliverius with the rest of his men assures a victory. Ayrshire folk are surrounded and soon they all lay dead.

Men of DunBroch cheer, pumping their fists in the air.

The towering figure of the king steps through the curtain of flames, which dies.

Behind him at least 2000 men.

It´s a mad rush to the gates for they know they can´t stand to the dark magic in his wicked weapons.

Once near the walls the archers fire –Release the arrows! - Death whispers from above and gives the retreating men some breathing room.

Once the last of them is inside, the doors close but Mérida isn´t on sight. Arrows are fired from and to the defenders, causing casualties on both sides.

-Men abandon the wall! Man the courtyard! - They obey. –Swordsmen in front! Archers in the back! Form up! Form up!-

-Where is the princess? - Oliverius whispers to a soldier.

-I do not know sir- The man whispers back. Trying to hide his worries he turns around and raises a knife in the air.

-We´ve made too many compromises already! Too many retreats! They invaded our lands! And we fell back! They killed your king and we fell back! Not again! The line must be drawn here! This far and no further! And we will make them pay for what they´ve done! –

The men cheer, just as a massive hit shakes the gate and the first cracks appear.


	15. The courtyard

Another massive hit, the cracks widen and with the third one a huge gap appears, the gates are breached, the armies of Ayrshire pour forth.

-Volley!- Many fall as many more still advance to clash with the wall of swordsmen. And finally father and son face each other.

The king is the first to strike, but the sword can be blocked and the flail is slow, easy to doge and counter.

An opening, the prince strikes cutting a bright gash in the cursed armor. But too slowly, the flail falls upon him as he raises his knives in an attempt to block.

The blades shatter and he is hit squarely in the chest. Magic has cancelled magic out but the blow is deathly by itself. He crawls to his knees and coughs; a red blot stains the ground.

The king lifts him by the scruff of the neck and presses his sword against the prince's throat. –You have betrayed me and your clan, allied yourself with the enemy and brought shame upon me- He talks like a madman –I must say I am greatly disappointed, now son, time to die-

-You will not touch another hair of him! - Mérida bellows and both turn to their heads towards her as she fires the Windbreaker. Once, twice, thrice. The black figure of the king falls, lifeless.

Upon seeing this most of his army scatters and flees, those who chose to fight die.

And the prince lies in the ground, his breathing is short and fast as the princess rushes and kneels at his side. -You did it... its over-He says.

-Resist...you, you'll be fine-

He almost chuckles -No... I won't.-

-Please...don't die, don´t go-

-It's not my choice Merida, I'm sorry- She doesn´t know what else to say, what to do other than...

His breathing is almost nonexistent as she kisses him, and for a moment he returns the kiss. Then nothing, she presses her lips harder but his own have gone cold.

-Oliverius?- And the prince became quite still and his eyes were glassy orbs, sprinkled with the light of the evening sun they could not see.


	16. Aftermath

A wall of men has formed around them as the princess sobs over the body. They look at them sad and pitifully.

-My, my, almost too late aren´t I? - An old, gritty voice coming from the ruined gates says. The men step aside to reveal a small figure.

-You hag! - Mérida bellows picking up her weapon –Go away before I put an arrow between your eyes! - She threatens, the lasts year´s events still fresh in her memory.

-Silence you ungrateful brat! - The witch answers –Now step aside! Let me through while he can still be saved! - While she says this, she crosses the courtyard in tiny steps and takes a flask from inside her robes.

Mérida is astounded –Why would you want to help me?-

-I have my reasons- She opens the flask, this time the potion is thick and black, almost like mud;

and pours it down his throat.

-What is that?-

-Just a little something I cooked up, usually it´s used to create undead armies but this isn´t exactly one of those usual situations. He´s been dead for too little, it may just work-

Mérida can only but ask –Would it work on my father?-

-Sorry child but this is barely enough for one person and it´s extremely complicated to make. Besides, your father has been dead for too long. By the way, you might want to try again-

And with that she vanishes into thin air.

What she means hits her like a sledgehammer, but still she leans forward and their lips meet once more.

What happened next words cannot describe, light returned to his eyes like a candle that had been put out and lit again, at the same time he took a deep, surprised breath and sat up.

Looking around him confused. And once he understood he smiled at Mérida.

-I´m guessing we are even, right?-

And without another word they shared they first true kiss, none of the both on the brink of death, none of both getting slapped as all men and women of DunBroch cheered.

The weddings took place the following morning in a party like none the kingdom had witnessed.

And Mérida and Oliverius ruled wisely and fairly over the land for many years.


	17. Epilogue

-And that my boy, is the end of our story- The man sitting in the great hall of DunBroch castle said, he was very tall but skinny, unlike most of the men were, he had fiery red hair. He sits next to a wee boy; and two other men that could well be portraits of himself. All of them have pots of beer next to them.

-But daddy what happened next? - The child, also with red hair asked.

-Well, there really isn´t anything left for me to say. -

-What about Windbreaker or the enchanted knives…which were their names?-

-He he, Snow thorn and frostbite child. Well, they were forged again young lad and they sit in the trophy room, next to the princess´s bow, waiting-

-Waiting for what?-

-Oh yeah that, I didn´t mentioned that, their heirs my son. Because, like all lives, Merida's and Oliverius´s came to an end and they were buried with all the possible honors; but not before leaving two beautiful children. A boy and a girl. - He takes another gulp of beer. –She as unruly and fair as her mother, him as smart and skilled as his father. Oh look, there they go!-

Indeed, a small girl with wild, red hair is running behind a boy with dark curls coming from his head. Miniature versions of their parents.

-Now go along and play my boy! - He says, and the child looks at his father smiling, then leaps from the table and runs behind them.

Once he is away one of the men sitting next to him says –You know Hubert, I think the story sounds better when I tell it-

-Well Hamish, then you can tell them to your own son. If you ever have one-

-Pfff! I´m a busy man! I don´t have time for maidens! - He then turns towards the third man –Harris back me up!-

The third man answers -I´m sorry Hamish, but I think that the way he tells the story is- He takes a deep gulp and answers as he slams the pot in the table -unrivaled-

THE END


End file.
